Posts
Seeing as I'm currently not bringing in much in the way of income, sometimes I feel guilty on the money that my husband and I spend on furthering my writing career. I'm lucky that I'm married to someone that believes in my abilities without question, and that buoys me on those days I'm feeling low.
Since I've left work, we've spent money on smaller items like books and subscriptions to magazines that will help my craft and I joined SCBWI, but there have been larger expenses, mainly my iMac. I'm not going to lie-I've been wanting to go the Mac route for years and I was thrilled that we were finally at a place where we could afford to do it. That said, I did consider the Mac to be a business expense. I spend several hours a day on my computer, and the Mac has a screen a LOT larger than my laptop. There is also Mac only writing software (I'm currently trying out Scrivener), and frankly, for me-it just makes life as a writer that much easier.
We're also pondering if we can afford for me to attend an SCBWI conference next year, either in New York or LA. This isn't going to be cheap, so while I feel a bit guilty for spending the money, my husband tells me that if I feel that if it will help me improve as a writer, and we can afford it, why shouldn't I go?
Again, I know I'm lucky, and I guess I see the money I'm spending as an investment towards my (hopeful) future career. I'm not going overboard in my spending, mainly because I know that the odds of me getting a one in a million large advance for my first novel are actually higher than one in a million. I'm spending what I hope to maybe, someday get back.
Writers: how are you investing in your future writing career?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I bought a MacBook this year and never looked back :) And I'm a freelance writer so...tax deduction! Woot.
ReplyDeleteI've attended two writing conferences so far (including SCBWI-LA, and YES you should go. It was one of the best weekends of my entire life.), and am going to a third soon. We don't have a lot of money by any means, but these are my vacations. I use all my PTO time for writing conferences, I stay with friends when I can (during SCBWI I split the room with a friend, my first conference was local, and my next one will be close to where a friend lives so I'm staying with them), and I have a part-time job which pretty much funds these adventures. It's totally worth it. I can see the difference in my writing. Next year, I'm starting a low-res MFA program. That's a huge leap but I'm very excited about it!
If you really love it, I think it's worth it to invest in your career. For me, it's not just about learning - conferences are also fun.
Of course you can write totally for free at your library (on their computers) and still have a great book without spending a dime, so it really depends on what you want to do!
Thanks for your input, Heather! I am excited to go to my first conference, I may try my local's annual first, I think it's in October. :)
ReplyDelete